Eric Cox

One of the undying themes in art, perhaps the only real theme of art, is the examination of what is called the human condition. This is the title of the latest series of paintings from Phoenix-based artist Eric Cox who has raised his vision to the highest possible aim an artist can have, to express that which this series is titled after, while simultaneously holding a focus on the what many would say are the lowest passions of our species: sex and death. It is this balancing act that Cox performs in each painting which makes it crackle with visual energy while still ‘freeze framing’ several moments and layering them atop each other. The paintings which make up ‘Human Condition’ are never a single image any more than they are made from a single medium – Cox employs wax pencils, spray paint, oil paint and more in his attempt to slather on more pathos per square inch than many painters manage to fit within a single canvas.